Gifts Aren't Always Presents
by AnsSurLaTerre
Summary: Draco has a very bad birthday. (I suck at summaries) First attempt, please review. Flames welcome.


Gifts Aren'tt Always Presents  
  
Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. Too bad, if it did I'd be rich, instead of a   
  
penniless college student.  
  
Summary: Draco has very bad birthday. (I'm bad at summaries) First attempt, flames   
  
totally welcome.( *-equal thougts)  
  
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Chapter One: Happy Birthday  
  
It was a warm spring day as the students walked throigh the hallsto heir respective   
  
classes. Most stuedents were laughing and chatting cheerily with their friend, lingering 'til   
  
the last second. Two students, however, already sat in their seats.   
  
One of these was Hermione Granger; she would never risk being late for a class if   
  
she could help it. She sat patiently, reviewing her notes form the previous class. The   
  
student at the table in front of her was none other thatn her blonde-headed nemesis.  
  
Draco Malfoy was not having a good day. today was his birthday. One would   
  
assume this would be a great day for the Slytherin Prince, but it had started horribly when   
  
he woke up this morning with a raging headache. Then, Pansy had given him her gift: a   
  
thick chained necklace with a large gaudy dragon pendandt. "I saw it and I thought it was   
  
just the perfect thing for my Dragon." She said in a sticky sweet voice. Her face fell as she   
  
saw his look of distatse. Not wanting to deal with a sulky Pansy, he put it on, insisting he   
  
liked it. (He'd get rid of it or "loose" it in a weak or so.) She had clung to him happily   
  
until Millicent came get her so they could study for thier test today.   
  
Later, at breakfast his owl had arrived with his mother's usual box of sweets. To   
  
his dismay (but not to his surprise) Crabbe and Goyle quikly ate it all. He'd only wanted   
  
one. To make matters worse, they were promptly ill; all over his transfiguration essay. He   
  
tripped on the way down the stairs to potions and his headach seemed to be getting   
  
worse. All in all, it had not been a pleasant morning. Now, he sat at his desk with his head   
  
down, waiting to get the class over with.   
  
Slowly, the other students filtered in. As the last student took his seat, Professor   
  
Snape made his usual stormy entrance, complete with his perpetual snarl. "Today we will   
  
be working on the Invisisbility Potion. Your instructions are on the board, as well as your   
  
assigned partners. Be warned, the potions will be closely minitored, anyone caught using   
  
the potion for childish pranks and such will be punished. You may begin." Draco looked   
  
up at the board and groaned. Granger was his partner. Just great, each second was better   
  
than the next.  
  
Hermione gathered her things and made her way over. Her displeasure was also   
  
evident in her expression. The two began their potion speaking only when necessary.   
  
Draco wathched the silber potion simmering. *It could have been worse, I could have   
  
gotten Weasly or Longbottom, at least Granger can make a potion.* He closed his eyes as   
  
his headache spiked painfully. He then realized Hermione was talking to him. "What?" He   
  
asked, looking at her. "I said, you better turn it off, it's about to burn." She replied a little   
  
frustrated at having to repeat herself. "Oh, sorry." He quickly put out the flame. Hermione   
  
gave him a quizzical look. * "sorry?" never heard that before he must not be feeling well   
  
or something.*  
  
She shrugged and began stirring the potion while Draco cut the final ingrediant into fine   
  
pieces.  
  
Suddenly, Draco dropped the knife he'd been using. Hermione looked as it   
  
clattered to the floor. Draco jerked back starring straight ahead, his pupils si small, his   
  
eyes seemed completly silver. Hermion grabbed his trying to get his attention. "Malfoy?   
  
Are you okay?" He didn't seem to hear her, he gasped and pulled away suddenly, falling to   
  
the floor. e sat there with his arems around his legs rocking back and forth. "No, no,   
  
no..:" He whimpered over and over seemingly in shock. "What's wrong? What do you   
  
see?" Hermione asked worriedly, the silver eyes were creeping her out. "Screaming.   
  
They're killing them. The children first. " Draco whispered, still staring ahead. " The man   
  
is screaming. Emily! They tortured her to death right in front of him. Oh, Merlin!There's   
  
so much blood...." Suddenly he collasped bonelessly slidding sideways to lie upon the   
  
floor, unconcious.   
  
The whole room was silent, as students watched curiosly.Snape rushed over   
  
concerned for his favorite student. "Granger, Raydeen," he said indicating Hermione and a   
  
fairly responsible Slytherin;"You two are in charge, collect the vials and put them in the   
  
cabinet, if any are missing you two will recieve a month's detention for both of you and a   
  
hundred house points deduction. Class is dismissed." Snape levitated Draco hurrying to   
  
the hospital wing.  
  
"What happened?" Madame Pomphrey rushed to tend her newest patient. Snape   
  
lowered Draco onto a bed. "He seems to have fainted, but I think he was hallucinating   
  
before he lost concioussness." Madame Ponphrey looked up at that. "Hallucinating,?   
  
About what? Are you sure he was hallucinating?" Snape gave her a withering glare. "I   
  
suppose you could ask Miss Granger, she was the closest, she saw the whole thing." He   
  
grimaced a little as he said her name. "Well go get her you ninny!" Madame Pomphrey   
  
ordered. If it wasn't for the fact he was worried about his favorite student he may have   
  
resented that, instead he quickly left to retrieve her.  
  
Meanwhile, the nurse checked out her patient. "Hm, no fever or flu syptoms,   
  
steady pulst, no wounds or traces of potion or toxins." Pomphrey was a little desturbed, if   
  
the boy had hallucinated there should be a fever or some kind of illness. She didn't have   
  
time to ponder though, as the door oppened to admit Snape with Hermione in tow. She   
  
motioned them to have a seat on the nearby bed. She was about to begin questioning   
  
Hermione when draco began to stir. "How are you feeling Mr. Malfoy?" asked the nurse   
  
as his eyes fluttered open. He moaned "My head feels like it's about to explode. What   
  
happened?" Madame Pomphrey accioed a headache potion. "Professor Snape says you   
  
were hallucinating, can you tell me about it?" She asked turning back to face him.   
  
"Hallucinating?" he asked confused. "I don't remeber that, all I remeber is cutting the last   
  
ingrediant, my head hurt...and then I was here." Madame Pomphrey pressed on. "You   
  
don't remeber what you saw?" Draco shook his head, wincing as his head still ached.   
  
"No." Madame Pomphrey frowned. "Perhaps Miss Granger can tell us, it may be   
  
important." She turned to Hermione. "Can you tell me about the incident?" Hermione   
  
nodded. "It was wierd, he dropped his knife so I turned to see what was the matterand his   
  
eyes had gone all silver, and then he jerked back like he'd benn smacked. I tried to ask him   
  
what was ging on, but when I touched him he pilled away so fast he fell off his stool, and   
  
then-then he sat on the floor rocking back and forth." Draco listened, confused and   
  
worried, he didn't remeber any of this. Madame Pomphrey asked Hermione another   
  
question. "Did he say anyting?" Hermione answered slowly, she still found his reply wery   
  
disturbing. "First he kept saying 'no, no' over and over. Then when I asked him what he   
  
saw he told me something about screaming, people dying,, someone named Emily, and   
  
blood, and then he passed out." "Is that all?" Hermione nodded her head. "Yes."   
  
"Thankyou, you may go." Said the nurse, dismissing her back to class. Hermione left, a   
  
little reluctan to leave, her curiosity piqued.  
  
As Hermione left, who should walk in but Dumbledoor. " Good morining Poppy,   
  
Severus." They nodded acknowledging his entrance. "What seems to be the problem here,   
  
no potion accidents I hope?"  
  
Snape was filling him in when suddenly, Draco's headache spiked again and he was once   
  
again immersed in a vision.  
  
He foind himself in a small, slighlty ragged house. As he walked through the house   
  
he came upont the dining room. He saw shadowy figures sitting at the table. They seemed   
  
to be singing what sounded like "Happy Birthday." There was a crask as the door   
  
slammed open. Dark figures entered and before the family could react they raised their   
  
wands. Two of the smaller figures, children, fell dead as green light flew towards them   
  
from the figures' wands. The parents remained where they were, frozen in shock and   
  
horror. The figures then dragged the now screaming couple into another room. The   
  
woman bit one of her captors who repsoned by backhanding her across the face. Draco   
  
reeled, feeling the slap as if it had been him, he felt the pain and terror of the couple   
  
swirling around him. He whatcehd in horror as the figures tortured the woman before her   
  
husband. The man watched, screaming. "Stop! Stop! Please God, make them stop! Emily!   
  
Emily, I love you!" He wailed as she died. When her body fell quiet, he continued   
  
screaming her name over and over untul he too was cursed, dead.  
  
  
  
Draco covered his ears, trying to drown out the echoes of the awful screams.   
  
Dumbledoor shook him gently trying to get his attention. Finally, Draco snapped back to   
  
reality. "Draco," Dumbledoor spoke, his tone soft and reassuring, "We need you to tell us  
  
what you saw" So Draco told him, heitently, the horrific images still replaying in his   
  
mind's eye.  
  
When he finished, Madame Pomphrey was finally able to give hime the headache   
  
potion. The throbbing dissipated in seconds. Dumbledoor spoke again:"Thankyou, Draco.   
  
I'm afraid I can't tell you what happened, but I may have an idea. You should be fine for   
  
now. Why don't you head down to dinner. Madame Pomphrey and I will discuss this, if   
  
you feel another headache comming on, please come and see us." Draco nodded and   
  
hurried out of the hospital wing.  
  
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That's all for now, thanks for reading. Don't forget to review. 


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